


A Girl On Fire

by asphoria



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-11-23 12:38:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11402574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asphoria/pseuds/asphoria
Summary: TL;DR - Justice for Zutara: A College AU"Alright Fire boy, think you can get home dry?" His eyes sparked slightly, falling on the slight grin lingering on her face. "I'll be good, thank you." She kept her eyes on him as he began to walk down the street, the grin on her face growing slightly larger as the flame in his palm came to life, a soft light to compliment his otherwise dark presence. As she walked back home, feet splashing through the puddles down the pavement, she couldn't help but hope to run into him again.





	1. Chapter 1

Her fingers curled tightly against the base of the cold leather chair, her mind working to focus more on breathing and less on the sharp needle piercing the skin on her back. She felt a bead of sweat drip down her forehead, eyes squeezed shut in an effort to ignore the pain running across her back. The needle lifted off her skin, replaced by a cool compress soaking both blood and ink across her back. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the flickering lights around her as Symphony no. 40 played softly in the background. A large hand wrapped around her arm guiding her up from the chair as she clutched the towel to her chest, turning around to face the gentle giant who stood before her.

"You know, I'll never quite understand why you always play Mozart." She laughed, while walking to the mirror on the left wall to see how much work was left to be done. The large man shrugged, a grin sweeping across his face as he began to wipe down the seat.

"It helps me relax I guess - smooths out my line work and detailing too." She turned to face him briefly, eyes tracing the endless images across his arms and neck. She was thankful for his calming presence, three tattoos later and she was still a bundle of nerves each time they began the session.

Tilting her head back to the mirror she gasped softly, eyes trailing across the details and gentle lines that flowed across her skin, "I love it" she whispered softly, then louder so that he could hear. He chuckled, she remained in constant awe of his work - an ego boost he gladly accepted both as an artist and a friend.

"We have a few touch-ups left so you'll still need to come back for another session but we got a lot done in one sitting so you're on a good start Katara." Outside the rain poured down, as though mimicking the sound of thunder. The neon lights of the store flickering in the puddles that lined the pavement, as the dimply lit streets only grew darker as the night approached. Katara remained in front of the mirror, all attention focused on the giant waves that flowed across her back, oblivious to the harsh weather outside. She turned to her side, smiling as her eyes traced one of Shang's previous works on her skin, a lilac blossom sprig in memory of her mother. The sharp needle on her ribs had been an unbearable pain, but she had found it to be almost fitting in that it reminded her of losing her mother - and learning to rediscover her in her life. For such a large man Shang truly made close to no noise walking around his parlor, except for his soft hums along to Mozart, which is why when the door of the shop swung open and the heavy winds flew around her she was taken by such surprise she nearly dropped the towel covering her chest.

Her right hand held onto it in the last moment as her left attempted to clear the mass of windblown hair across her face. Turning towards the door, she heard Shang's deep voice cut the silence that had returned to the small parlor. "I'm closing up shop kid - a bit late for a last minute tattoo." Her eyes traveled gently across the completely drenched boy in front of her, his black hair matted against his face and his shirt and pants soaked through. Her eyes moved down to his fingers, noticing they were trembling slightly from the cold, wild rains outside - he was clearly not a Waterbender or he would have never been this drenched in the first place.

"Shit sorry.." he muttered, a low and rough voice escaping his lips. "This was the only place open right now and uh - I don't do well with water. Is it alright if just wait till you're done closing to dry off a little?" Katara sighed as she noticed the puddle forming around his feet, Firebenders in the rain - a sorry sight to see. 

"I can help you get dry - just let me put a shirt on first." She muttered, walking back to Shang's station to pick up her sweatshirt.

He raised his head for the first time, as if only now noticing her. His dark eyes traced her back as she stood, back turned to him replacing the white towel with a soft grey hoodie. As she turned back to him his gaze fell down to his shoes again and he muttered a soft thank you. Shang grabbed the towel from the seat and softly hit her on the head with it, a gentle laugh escaping his grin followed by, "You know the only reason I don't have you tape up that tattoo is because I trust you to keep it healed and dry right?"

She laughed with a soft shrug, turning to face the tall man a glimmer in her eyes as she responded, "Oh how you wound me with your lack of belief in me oh great tattoo master Shang." A snort escaped Shang's lips as he headed to the back room, always entertained by his favorite client. Katara made her way to the wet mess by the door truly amused by what a predicament the Firebender had found himself in.

"So what do they call you?" She asked lightly, standing before him. He coughed gently, clearing his throat before answering, "Zuko uh - yeah my name's Zuko." He pushed his hand through his hair, water droplets falling down his face as his eyes met hers.

"That's cute," she shrugged, "now let's get you dry before you catch pneumonia or something, I doubt Shang wants that listed as a Yelp review for his store." Snorting gently at her own joke she began to guide her arms in gentle, yet firm movements - his eyes widening slightly as he realized she was bending the water away from him. He stood still, slowly feeling his hair and clothes grow dry again, the wet feel on his skin disappearing. A minute later she was done, clapping her hands together to signal her finish.

"Thanks for that uh -" he stammered out, realizing he had never asked for her name in return. 

"It's Katara and you're good don't stress about it." She walked back to Shang's station, grabbing her phone and bag from under the chair, just as Shang walked back out from the back room.

He clapped his large hands together once to get their attention, "Alright kids I'm trying to head home and you two should as well now that the storm's stopped for a second. I'll see you here next Friday," looking at Katara, "and you if you ever need a tattoo or a spot to stay dry," turning his head to Zuko.

"Thanks Shang, I'll be on time next time I swear" She laughed as she walked out the door, a much drier Zuko trailing behind her. Turning to face him, she watched as he raised his head to the sky - a pained expression on his face as though dreading any rain left to come. "Alright Fire boy, think you can get home dry?" His eyes sparked slightly, falling on the slight grin lingering on her face.

"I'll be good, thank you." She kept her eyes on him as he began to walk down the street, the grin on her face growing slightly larger as the flame in his palm came to life, a soft light to compliment his otherwise dark presence. As she walked back home, feet splashing through the puddles down the pavement, she couldn't help but hope to run into him again.


	2. ResLife

Sokka's grunts echoed around her, the boxes in her arms growing heavier by the minute. Rolling her eyes at her brother, she used her foot to push open her door almost dropping to the floor as Sokka crashed into her from behind. Exasperated she turned to face him, grabbing the boxes from his arms and placing them on the floor.

He proceeded to dramatically fall to the floor, chest heaving as he gasped for air, "I just - gasp - don't - gasp - understand why they'd put you - gasp - on the fifth floor - gasp - with not a single elevator - gasp - in this entire godforsaken building!" 

Laughing, she nudged his side with her foot stepping around him to close her dorm room door. "Oh Sokka, you know first years always get rooms in the older buildings. It - it builds character I suppose." 

He snorted, sweat trickling down his forehead as he sat up and attempted to crack his sore back. "Yeah well you're not a first year, you're their RA don't you get special treatment or something - what's the point of the job otherwise?!" 

Katara shook her head softly, thankful for her brother's presence even when he pulled out the dramatics.

"I have a few boxes left in the car and then we're done. Could you?" She asked softly, knowing her brother wouldn't say no to helping her. 

Twenty years of living with Sokka and she knew every weak spot the boy had, and had long since perfected the art of playing each one. Groaning, her brother stumbled out of the door muttering to himself as he dragged his long legs down the hallway. Katara turned to the boxes on the floor and sighed, unpacking was not one of her strong points and she always regretted bringing so much stuff with her - knowing she would only accumulate even more by the end of the year. Walking towards the mirror on her wall, she lifted up her soft blue hoodie, arching her head to see the work of art lined against her back. A small smile grazed her face, her warm blue eyes gaining a new spark as she traced the waves across her tanned back. Hearing Sokka's grunts and complaints grow closer she quickly pulled her hoodie down, long legs stumbling over a box to her right and she proceeded to land in a heap on the floor, just in time for her brother to walk into the room and laugh at the sight before him.

Two hours later Sokka finally decided he should leave her to herself and as much as she adored her older brother, she was grateful for the much needed space from each other. As she climbed the seemingly endless flights of stairs, she thanked Tui to have been born a bender, the constant sparring and training being the only reason she ever made it past the third floor without collapsing. Walking back into her room she groaned at the mess Sokka had left under the guise of 'assisting her' and threw herself onto her bed, the one thing they had successfully completed in the process of moving back in. Reaching for her phone, she rummaged through her backpack pulling out her portable speaker and drowning out all other sounds. As Sza's voice played around her she groaned at the thought of her first year residents moving into the hall in only three days, for now relishing her lack of need to abide by quiet hours and noise regulations.

In the days leading up to her residents' arrival, Katara unpacked what seemed to be her entire life from endless boxes. She cut out one door decoration after the other, planned out bulletin boards, touched up her five-year plan, called her father twice a day and counted down the days for her second session with Shang, longing to complete her third tattoo. When move-in day arrived she stood outside her room greeting the first year benders and non-benders as they and their families made their way around each other carrying boxes and storage bins, making Katara wonder whether she really did own as much stuff as she had initially thought herself to. A constant smile plastered onto her face she introduced herself to one nervous parent, and then another, and another; constantly assuring them of their child's safety and soon to be success at the university. Five hours into move-in she began to question why she had ever applied for the position of Resident Advisor; she had put out three small fires, had to call facilities to fix the floor in an Earthbender's room already and had written up a young Waterbender for 'accidentally' hosing down one of their Firebender neighbors.

When the flood of families and students finally left to attend the traditional welcome dinner she found herself sliding down to the floor, more exhausted than she had ever been before. Closing her eyes for a brief second, she was suddenly interrupted by the clearing of someone's throat. Slowly raising her head she met the gaze of a petite, dark haired girl draped in red and black, her pitch black eyes staring straight into Katara's own. 

"Get the door for me would you?" the girl somewhat asked and somewhat demanded, her smoky voice clearly fitting her Firebender presence. 

Katara's arm reached the door handle to her left, swinging the door open for the raven haired girl as she sauntered into her room. Groaning she lifted herself up from the floor, her body aching for a shower so hot it might just burn her skin off. As she walked towards her room a voice carried out across the hallway. 

"Are you the RA?" Katara turned to face the pale, dark haired girl nodding her head. 

A slow grin spread across the girl's face, laced with danger her voice called out again, "Well isn't this fun. I've always found people in authority to be - hmm.. the most interesting in bed."

Laughing she slammed the door shut leaving Katara stunned, cheeks burning with every second that passed as she hastily stumbled into her room wishing the damned day to be over.

With her residents and their families, albeit the sultry girl next door to her, all busy with orientation events, Katara decided to practice her meditation - a skill she had never truly developed due to her inability to remain patient. However it appeared that today she held no luck whatsoever, ten minutes after she had finally leveled her breathing she was interrupted by a sharp knock at her door. Brows furrowed, she decided to wait it out and hope the person would simply go away, but the flutter of harsh knocks only grew louder and more frequent. Groaning softly, she opened the door to be rushed to the side by two adult Earthbenders, followed by a younger one grumbling behind them. 

"Good evening, I presume you are the Resident Advisor for this floor?" Katara nodded, examining the family that stood before her. 

"Excellent - my name is Lao Beifong and this is my wife and my daughter Toph. My daughter is to be your resident this upcoming year and her mother and I wished to discuss certain factors with you regarding her.. condition - namely as you will be the primary adult in her presence and..." 

As the man droned on, Katara nodded her head every now and again not necessarily taking in what he was speaking of - but rather her eyes fell on the young girl standing, or more so being held firmly between her parents. The mother's fingers tightly grasped her right arm, while her father had his own snaked around her waist pulling her close to him - as though without the two of them she would crumple to the floor. Eyes flitting between the reticent girl and her flailing father, Katara took note of how small the girl appeared to be in the presence of her parents. When Lao Beifong finally ended his tirade, Katara forced a smile on her face. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Beifong, I can assure you that your daughter Toph will be more than safe and will certainly thrive here. We have students from all nations with all forms of abilities and as a university we are known to have the best resources available for all our students." Sighing softly, she continued "I already believe that Toph will contribute so much to this community and as her Resident Advisor I am more than ready to support her - when she needs it." 

Despite mutterings continuing from the Beifong parents, Katara gently escorted them out of her room towards the exit of the building, reminding them that they should hurry to their vehicle so as to avoid the risk of a ticket. As they hurried to their car, she found herself groaning loudly - thankful that her father had not been the overbearing type. 

To her right, someone snorted and as just as she looked up Toph stated, "That was rough - now imagine living with them."

Chuckling softly Katara shook her head, realizing slowly she already had a soft spot for the seemingly stoic girl beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, thanks for checking this work out I'm really excited about it. This fic is a part of an ongoing project I'm working on with a good friend of mine - we're hoping to create a form of a graphic novel combining my writing and his artwork. To support a really cool POC artist check him out on instagram (fay_th97) and tumblr (fay-th.tumblr.com)


	3. Call Me

As orientation week flew by and the start of classes approached, Katara felt as though she'd never truly have her life in control. She spent her mornings guiding her first years to their mandatory freshers week activities, constantly needing to force Azula to join the rest of her class much to the young girl's disdain, her afternoon's were spent preparing bulletin boards and programs while simultaneously barging into the registrar's office needing to correct another class they had somehow placed her in. By evening, the last thing she wanted to do was rounds, wishing her residents would all just shut up by eleven at night and not barge into her room demanding conflict resolution work. There were moments however she did cherish, namely those in which she has the chance to get to know the young students better, the soft spot she held for Toph growing larger and larger through every interaction with the fierce Earthbender.

This morning was no different to her hectic schedule, as she stuffed a sesame bagel into her mouth with one hand while attempting to clasp her bra shut with the other. Stumbling over her own feet, she landed in a flailing pile of limbs on the floor, her back sore and shoulder already bruising. "Tui have mercy on the next person to knock on that damned door." She muttered angrily, groaning as she lifted herself off the floor her bagel now a sad, crumpled mess. She longed for classes to begin, leaving her residents with less time to spend with her, and her with more time to focus on her bending; one of the few pleasures she allowed herself during the school year. Kicking her textbooks to the side, she turned to face her mirror, eyes trailing the large wave and koi fish on her back, counting down the hours till she could finish the work with Shang tomorrow. 

"Knock knock it's your favorite resident." A snarky voice pierced through the door, "and I have coffee so don't hate me too much."

Thanking Tui for the fact that Toph shared her avid caffeine cravings, Katara yanked open her bedroom door ready to drag in her sullen, yet lovable resident. What she however did not expect, was for her eyes to meet those of a slender, young man whose gaze soon fell to her shirtless chest, a sharp red hue soon taking over his face. Realizing she was shirtless, she slammed the door shut in his face, hearing a retort from Toph who she assumed was hidden behind his tall figure. Grabbing the closest sweatshirt she could find, she braced herself and re-opened the door half wishing the boy would have miraculously vanished, leaving behind only the short, presumably irritated Earthbender she had initially expected. However as the door swung open once more, his grey eyes met hers again, face remaining as red as ever. A force behind him quickly shoved him into her room, Toph following suite grumbling to herself about 'the audacity of some folk.'

"Katara this is Aang - Aang this is Katara, congratulations you both met, wow look at my world's colliding - great." Toph's nonchalant attitude did nothing to ease the heavy tension in the room.

"Ugh - pleasure to - ugh please to meet you despite the circumstances I do apologize for startling you - ugh Toph just said-" Aang's soft voice called out, his fingers twisting against one another as he stumbled over his words.

Katara rolled her eyes, the poor boy before her an absolute wreck. Grabbing the iced coffee from his outstretched arm she sat on her bed, looking him up and down as the blush on his face grew brighter. He was built quite slender, a certain youthful innocence surrounding him - only heightened by how mature a person Toph remained in his company. Katara's gaze then moved to Toph, who despite slouching against her dresser, stood quite close to the boy - more comfortable around him than Katara had seen her around most people in the short while that she had known her.

"Katara, nice to meet you. I'm Toph's Resident Advisor as I'm sure you've put together. Are you a first year here as well?" She smiled to herself as her RA voice sounded out, calm and welcoming - hoping to ease the boy of some of his undeniable awkwardness. 

He cleared his throat, eyes falling to his shoes rather than meeting her eyes. Stumbling to find his words again, Toph's voice rang out before his could.

"He's actually a second year - an Airbender. Pretty impressive, but what would I know I've never seen him bend." She snorted at her own joke. "Anyway Aang just stopped by to visit, we're heading out - probably going to harass some Firebenders you know me."

Katara watched as Toph dragged the boy back out of her room, his cheeks never once returning to their usual color. He waved softly, his long legs tripping over one another as the Earthbender pulled him with all her might. Despite wishing she had met him under different circumstances, Katara realized she was also thankful for the comedic relief he had presented this morning. As she mused over the interaction, she couldn't help but make a mental note to ask Toph more about the boy later - as well as the young girl's not so subtle interest in him. As she began to re-organize her room in the premise of being productive, she was suddenly distracted by a series of prominent moans that appeared to be coming from the room next door. Clutching her book on War Resolution to her chest, she softly shuffled closer, pressing her ear against her wall. A deep, long winding moan ensued, causing Katara to drop her book in haste and rush away from her previous spot against the wall. A series of emotions flew through her mind, firstly the horror of hearing her resident have sex, followed by the hope that they were using protection, which was then followed by the uncomfortable realization that she knew exactly who the resident was. Rushing to grab her phone while simultaneously shoving her feet into her shoes, she proceeded to fly out the door and down the stairs hoping to find peace and quiet in another residence hall.

As she trudged across the residential quad, she decided to text Sokka, asking him whether she could come over on Sunday for some quality time. Every since he had graduated and had moved into an apartment with Suki, she couldn't help but realize that they spent less and less time together. Although she was immensely happy for both her brother and his girlfriend, he remained the closest family she had and was the one person who could always help her re-center herself. Her brother wasted no time responding, immediately inviting her over for the entire weekend followed by a stream of the worst puns he could think of. Smiling softly to herself, she was thankful to have someone as kind and ridiculous as he was in her life. 

As she made her way to the computer room on the fourth floor, a rather loud screeching noise appeared to follow her up the stairs. Brows furrowed, she followed the sound to a room at the other end of the floor, the door itself seemingly shaking with the intensity of the music. Katara groaned, knowing that as an RA she should have the student comply with noise levels, and yet as a person she had absolutely no interest in dealing with a presumably angsty, sullen resident. Despising herself for actually following protocol she knocked on the door, to no avail.

"ResLife -" she yelled, banging her fist louder on the door. The music appeared to only become louder, and so she struck her fist harder against the wooden door. "RESLIFE -" she nearly screeched, growing more and more frustrated with the absolute imbecile on the other side. 

"Tui forgive me if I happen to murder a resident today," she muttered raising her fist again to bang against the door with all her might. Just as she forced her arm forward, the door swung open and the force of her fist fell instead against a hardened chest, followed by a deep grunt from its recipient.

Quickly pushing the hair out of her face, Katara's face took on a stern grimace as she raised her eyes to meet those of the shirtless imbecile who stood before her. Suddenly, eyes widening, she recognized the golden eyes that stared back at her own - mirroring her own surprise.

"Fireboy?" She questioned, blinking twice as though Tui had deceived her eyes the first time. "What in the world are you doing here?" 

"Uh - I mean I study here so..." His voice was soft and raspy, just as it had been the first night they had met. "The real question is why are you banging on my door at -" glancing behind him at the clock on his wall, "twelve in the afternoon?"

Her eyes flickered to his raised eyebrow, but did not miss the slightest of grins across his face. Remembering why she had actually approached his room she straightened up slightly and met his eyes again.

"Your music went against noise regulations - I'll need to write you up for a conduct violation and a charge of twenty silver coins." Her face remained stern, eyes twinkling as the grin on his face dropped and he stared at her in shock.

"Twenty fucking coins - for listening to music? Are you fucking insane?" His voice dripped with shock, frustration clouding his eyes.

Chuckling Katara shook her head, "I was kidding. But you do need to turn it down. Do you have a sharpie I can borrow - I need to take note of the incident." 

Groaning softly, Zuko stumbled back into his room, hands searching for a marker on his messy desk, muttering to himself about 'stupid policies'. Finally reappearing with a sharpie, Katara proceeded to grab the marker and step closer to him, whispering to him to stop fidgeting as she began to scrawl out numbers on his chest.

"How's this a write-up then?" He asked, slightly annoyed as she removed her hand from his bare chest. A glint in her eye as she looked up at him she winked, a soft smile taking over her face.

"Call me and find out Fireboy." She slowly placed the marker back into his hand, fingers lingering only slightly on his wrist.

He watched her walk away, eyes trailing her firm physique as she turned around and loudly called out, "Think of me when you're scrubbing it off in the shower," her words quickly followed by a warm, sultry chuckle, his eyes never once leaving hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, I'm still working on layout and just trying to get out of a creative rut so any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading up till now, hope ya'll are feeling the way the story is going so far!


	4. Siblings

The sound of glass shattering against the wall woke her up, her eyes closing once more in the hope that the noise had been nothing more than a dream. The glass however, was only followed by a rather loud, and extremely unpleasant shrieking - one that did not stop. Groaning to herself, Katara slowly sat up wishing for the life of her that someone had actually died to justify the sound coming from the very pits of hell. For a brief minute there was silence, and a spark of hope rattled through her chest - but the silence barely lasted a second and was soon replaced by more shrieking. Scrambling for her sweatpants, Katara blundered around her room still half-asleep as the battlefield next door ensued. Cursing under her breath, she froze as suddenly the shrieks were replaced by a loud, male voice. Fear rushing through her veins, she sprinted out of her room and into the hallway. Startled for a second, she wondered why none of her residents were present for the apparent predicament - only to realize they were all at the final day of orientation events; well all but one. As the shrieking continued, Katara pushed open the door to the room beside hers, thankful that it had not been locked. 

Taking in the scene before her she froze briefly, bewildered at what was taking place before her. Azula stood close to the window, her eyes almost on fire - reflecting the sharp, red flames that danced dangerously around her fists. The smell of smoke surrounded the Waterbender and her eyes were quick to pick up on singed papers and books that lay on the floor, a scattered mess. A young man stood before Azula, his hands raised but nevertheless in a defensive stance. His shirt reeked of smoke, and his right arm was stained red as though burned. Katara's eyes swept around the room searching for any source of water, the two Firebenders oblivious to her presence. Just as her gaze swept to a glass on the dresser; Azula attacked. Her palms turned towards the young man, a steady golden flame burst towards him, its scorching heat taking over the room - but it barely touched him. Azula was fast, but Katara had been quicker - soaking the girl so suddenly she was forced to drop her flames in her startled state.

" _THAT IS ENOUGH_ ," Katara roared, her voice echoing across the room causing the two before her to spin around, shocked at her presence. "I don't know what the fuck is going on but it is _ENOUGH_."

Her heavy gaze fell on Azula, eyes raking over the girl to make sure she was not injured. A sea of wet hair covered her face, head bowed down as if in shame but Katara did not miss the way in which her fists were balled tightly by her side. Closing the door behind her, she stepped towards the boy, his back turned to her again - chest heaving.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," she seethed as she jabbed her finger into the boy's back. "How dare you - I don't know who the fuck you think you are but -" 

She froze as he turned towards her, her eyes meeting his, her mouth agape as she took him in. The wave of shock that had crashed against her soon returned as a force of anger beyond belief, a storm whirled within her, but before she could unleash it, Azula spoke - her voice slicing through the silence in the room.

"It's okay, he's my brother.," Her voice faltered but only for a second. "Please Katara - look I'll clean everything up okay? I'll make sure nobody smells the smoke or even hears anything _please_ just don't write this up as an incident. - he can't find out, I just - I just got here." Her voice was so soft, barely a whisper.

Katara turned to look at the girl, she had never seen her so small, let alone sound so small. She had had but few interactions with Azula but never one where she didn't hold her own - the girl who stood before her now was far from fierce, rather she was terrified. 

"Azula, I can't - I can't just not pretend you weren't about to burn him down, what if someone heard you or had seen something I -" She shook her head softly as she spoke, her voice as soft as the girl's had been. As she opened her mouth to continue she was interrupted.

"Blame it on me. Write me up instead, I shouldn't be in these halls in the first place right?" 

Katara swung around, her eyes meeting his golden ones. She stared at him, her brows furrowed as a million thoughts raced through her mind all at once. Cursing under her breath she couldn't ignore the pleading tone to his voice, the desperation in hers. It was moments like these where Katara wished she could be home, the cold ocean rushing against her - rather than in a room with two singed Firebenders who were asking for her help. The two siblings stared blankly at each other, neither sure of what to say or do yet both very aware of the storm brewing within the Waterbender.

"Tui have mercy on me -" glaring from one sibling to the next, Katara groaned. "Fine," pointing at Azula, "you are going to clean up this utter shit show within the hour and make sure not one single scratch or burn mark is left on _anything_ in this room. And _you_ ," she turned to Zuko, "are going to follow me right now and not say a word or I swear on Tui that I will find a way to set you on fire myself." 

Grabbing the older Firebender by the hand Katara stormed out of Azula's room and shoved the boy into her own, slamming the door shut behind her. He stood quite still, his eyes looking directly into the fire that burned within her own. Thinking it best to stay quiet and not further anger the Waterbender, he simply waited - watching as her sharp breaths grew slower and softer, her frustration escaping with them.

"You owe me Fireboy. You owe me big time." She sighed, her eyes meeting his again, much softer than they were before. 

"Thank you. And uh - I meant to, I meant to call." His voice was soft, unlike the loud snort that followed it. She laughed loudly and freely, thankful for his truth but also for his humor. 

He didn't quite understand what had been so funny, but her laughter spread a soft smile across his face and his eyes remained steady on her as her arm reached out to his. Her fingers traced the red mark on his arm, stinging slightly. His pride had been hurt more than the burn than his actual skin - but he watched with fascination as she trailed a gentle finger across it. 

"Will it heal?" She asked gently, her eyes meeting his gaze again and he nodded softly. 

For a second, her gaze flickered to the scar on his face, her brows furrowed slightly. Then they fell back onto the red, swollen skin on his arm; her fingers still lingering against it. She was fascinated not necessarily by the burn, but by the control he held over it as a Firebender. She knew her art through and through - how to attack, to protect and heal, among others; but the art of Firebending was always spoken of in a tone of death and so she had never considered its own healing capabilities. 

"Your shirt stinks. Hold on." She scrambled to her dresser, pulling out a plain black Tshirt that she had most likely once stolen from Sokka. Throwing it to him, she turned back to her dresser searching for sweatpants he could wear, her nose scrunching as the lingering smell of burnt fabric rested on his clothes. 

"Uh thanks? But I could -" She interrupted him before he could even blink again, a sharp grin on her face. 

"Nope, we're going to Shang's I have my final session for my back." 

He pursed him lips, slightly confused. "Well why do I -" but she interrupted him again, the smirk on her face growing bigger. 

"I need a distraction, something easy on the eyes and you, _you owe me_." 

Fifteen minutes later they were walking down University Avenue to Shang's, a comfortable silence between them. His eyes flickered often to the headstrong Waterbender beside him, a smirk still laced on her face. He respected her as a strong leader, and he was not blind to her beauty. From her bending capabilities so far he knew she trained often, and had learned certain skills others never fully accomplished. She and her bending were one whole entity, not to be separated and he admired that. He had seen that in his sister, perhaps less controlled but united nevertheless. 

"So," she dragged the word out slowly, "you never called huh?" The a grin grew on her face as she met his eyes, clearly enjoying his discomfort. 

"I meant to but uh - I just," 

"Wait - do you have a girlfriend, oh fuck," she snorted as if only now considering the option. 

His head snapped up, startled by the question but as his eyes met hers, he shook his head slowly almost seeing a short sigh of relief escape her. 

"Do you, uh do you have a partner?" He stuttered over his words, unsure of why he felt so nervous in her presence. She laughed loudly, a snort escaping her lips again. 

"If I had a boyfriend Fireboy, I wouldn't be trying to get in your pants since I'd already be in his." 

The wink that followed was quick, but the fire in her eyes lingered on his mind for what seemed like forever.

"Is that why you helped me?" 

She stopped so suddenly he almost walked into her, standing so still he was not sure if she was breathing at all. Turning around to face him, he saw a storm brewing in her eyes again, they held each other's gaze for what seemed like an eternity - both daring the other to look away first. 

"I didn't risk my job and my position at this University for a boy, even if you _are_ pretty cute Zuko. I risked it because today I saw your sister fear something so terrible, I couldn't bear the thought of her facing it. She might be a pain in my ass, but she is _my resident_ , just as she is strong and brave and worthy of another chance." With each emphasis of Azula's character, Katara jabbed her index finger into the Firebender's chest as though to further prove her point. 

His gaze was heavy on her own, a slight nod recognizing her words and what they implied. And then, Katara's eyes followed the smirk on his face, as his hand ran through his hair, she stood transfixed. The boy who till now had stumbled over his words and very own presence seemed to come anew, more confident and even more - alluring. 

Leaning slightly towards her, his lips brushed her ear ever so gently. "For the record, as much as I like you in your pants, I'd prefer you out of them." He whispered, neither of them backing down from the challenge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still trying to figure out if this chapter is out of place or not but it's meant to lead to a lot more so bear with me and this possibly out of place character development lmao also I finished this at like 5am so I apologize if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes. And I finally figured out how to add italics and bolded text cos ya girl was editing in HTML form or something who knows either way, thanks for sticking with the story ya'll.


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